News

Cricket New South Wales selectors have named a strong side to take on Victoria in a vital Ryobi Cup match at North Sydney Oval on Sunday.

Stephen O’Keefe will lead a side containing six players who have played Test, One Day or T20 matches for Australia, against old-rivals Victoria.

The corresponding fixture at the ground last year provided fireworks with Victoria batting first and piling up an enormous 7-317 from their 49 overs, which included 144 from Brad Hodge. This was not enough, however, as Daniel Smith smashed the record for the highest ever domestic score by a New South Wales player, hammering an unbeaten 179, as the target was chased down for the loss of three wickets, with 51 balls remaining.

Trent Copeland was not considered for the match after sustaining ankle ligament damage while performing 12th man duties during the current Bupa Sheffield Shield match. He is expected to be out for 4 to 6 weeks.

The full squad is :

Stephen O’Keefe ( Captain )

Sean Abbott

Doug Bollinger

Brad Haddin

Josh Hazlewood

Moises Henriques

Scott Henry

Nic Maddinson

Peter Nevill

Ben Rohrer

Steve Smith

Adam Zampa

*Josh Hurkett (13th man)

* Hurkett won a Transport for NSW competition to be the NSW SpeedBlitz Blues’ 13th Man against the Bushrangers. He will travel to and from the game with the team, help out in the drinks breaks and help the side chase an important Ryobi Cup victory.

The match will highlight the Plan B drink driving campaign, launched by Transport for NSW in August, which urges drinkers to get creative in getting home rather than driving under the influence.

Some Plan Bs are smarter than others – but any safe Plan B beats drinking and driving. If you have a drink while you’re out, RBT means you need a Plan B to get home.

Transport for NSW is the major sponsor of Cricket NSW and the NSW SpeedBlitz Blues.

MATCH FACTS

The match will start at 11-15 am

Tickets are available at the gate

Fox will broadcast the match live : ABC radio will do ball-by-ball commentary of the match